Tunnels
by Virvelmaster
Summary: What happens when a big hole cracks open in the Hall of Princes?  And someone goes missing down there...?
1. Free Fallin'

**Author's note.**

**This is the first chapter of my first story... Wow.  
>Enjoy! :)<strong>

**I do not own DSS/Cirque du Freak... *Sobs.***

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><p>It was an average night in Vampire Mountain, and Darren was in a very good mood. Two weeks ago, he had become a Vampire Prince. He loved it when vampires older than himself called him Sire and had to obey his commands. He was so proud about being the youngest prince ever.<br>Darren had woken up at sunset, and sat in the Hall of Khledon Lurt for breakfast, even though most of the vampires in the mountain were asleep.  
>He found Gavner Purl laying at a table, and awoke him.<p>

"Hey, Gavner... What's up dude?"

"Dude? Since when did vampires use the word dude?" Gavner asked, sat up and coughed.

"Sorry... I just miss the human world." Darren sighed. "Why were you sleeping at the table?"

"I don't know..." Gavner replied and tried to remember. "Seba brought alot of ale last night... That's all I can remember."

"Hmm." was Darren's answer. He then went to kitchen and came back with two bowls, filled with bat broth. "Breakfast?"

"Yeah..." Gavner mumbled. "I'll go get the bread."

After a quick breakfast, Gavner followed his friend Darren to the Hall of Princes. When they entered the room, Darren instantly ran across the floor to his throne.  
>"How does it feel to be a Prince?" asked the General and started to walk against Darren and his beloved throne.<br>"Great! But I get so tired... There's always work to do, and it's hard to adjust." the young prince answered.  
>Gavner stopped in the middle of the hall and shot his eyes open.<br>"Ehm... Sire..." he began.  
>"Mhm?" Darren said proudly.<br>"Is this floor solid? When I just walked on it... It echoed underneath this hall. And there are tiny, tiny cracks here..." said Gavner and leaned forward to study the floor.  
>"You're kidding, aren't you?" Darren felt alarmed. Could it be? What if it broke?<br>"No, I'm not..." Gavner watched the floor closely. "Hey, this floor must be checked. Can the princes do something about it?"  
>"I don't know... Ehh... Maybe you're wrong."<br>"I really don't think I am."  
>Darren shook his head. "I must discuss that with my colleagues. I bet they'll arrive soon."<br>"You really sound like a prince, at least." Gavner murmured. "This is really dangerous. I must go and warn the other Generals about it." he said and walked out of the hall, leaving a frightened Darren in his throne.  
>"It's not going to break, it's not going to break, it's not going to break, it's not going to break..." he mumbled, over and over again. "It's not going to break..."<p>

Then, he heard a creaking sound.

"HELP!" he roared and fell of his throne. "It's breaking!"

He cast an eye at the doors, wondering if there was any possibility that he could get out... And noticed that it was the doors that made the sound. They swung open, and a prince stumbled in.  
>"Arrow!" Darren sighed with relief and rose from the floor. The very muscular prince looked awful, with black rings around his eyes.<p>

"Darren! Good to see you... I haven't slept anything this day... But I left my coffin just a minute ago. I couldn't stop thinking about the rumours. They say that there are aeroplanes flying above our mountain. I don't know what we would do if they found us! I didn't sleep at all... I'm exhausted!" he whimpered.

"Don't worry, Arrow. They're just rumours. said Darren, trying to calm the older prince down. Darren saw that Arrow walked across the spot that was unsteady, according to Gavner.

"Arrow, is the floor underneath you creaking?"

"No... I can't hear anything, at least... But who knows, my senses might be bad in this state."

"I'm worried. Gavner said that there were tiny cracks also." Darren said uncomfortably and started to shift around in his throne.

"Calm down, kid." replied Arrow, and smiled, amused.

An hour later, Mika Ver Leth, Paris Skyle and Arrow sat in their thrones. They had a hard decision to make; Now all the Generals wanted them to check the floor in the Hall of Princes. They all claimed that the floor was about to break.

"Of course it can't break!" Mika snapped. "It's made of solid stone!"

"I'm with Mika," Arrow said thoughtfully. "It would be most incredible if the floor collapsed... That would mean that the whole mountain beneath this room should break apart."

"I don't know... Maybe if the part of the mountain beneath us is hollow?" Paris suggested.

Mika grunted for answer. "What do you think, Darren?"

The youngest prince was very afraid, and ran across the hall to jump at every inch of the floor.

"How should I know? What if it does?" He whimpered and jumped up and down. "This part feels solid, at least."

"Be careful!" Paris warned him. "What if the floor breaks when you're ju..."

Suddenly, it started to appear cracks underneath Darren's feet. He had no time to react, and a black, big hole cracked open. Darren fell backwards with his arms spinning around like mixers. It all went so fast.

"AAAAHHHHH!" he screamed and disappeard in the dark.

The princes sat there, quiet for a moment.

"Did the floor just break?" Mika asked slowly.

"D-Did Darren ju-just fall through the floor?" Paris stuttered.

Arrow blinked. "Ehh... Right... Back to the discussion... Who think that we shall repair the floor?" Paris and Mika instantly raised their hands.  
>"Then it's decided." They smiled and called for the Generals to repair the floor.<p>

With Darren still somewhere underneath it.

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><p><strong>And that was the first chapter! Sorry if it was very short. Promise the next one will be longer!<br>So... What do you think?  
>Please leave a review and let me know!<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed! :)**

**~Virvelmaster~**


	2. Into the abyss

**Hiya, sorry I haven't updated my story for a long time, but my internet goes crazy sometimes. :P**

**Darren disappeard, and the other princes doesn't care... But what happens when Larten finds out...?  
>Enjoy!<strong>

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><p>Larten Crepsley yawned and opened the lid to his coffin. He had slept late, as usual. The scar-faced vampire dressed, swept his red cloak around his shoulders, and then walked over to Darren's room. He wanted to begin with the lessons instantly today. But when he entered his assistant's room, it was empty, except for Harkat Mulds who slept standing beside Darren's hammock, and snored loudly. Larten went forward to awake Harkat.<p>

"Harkat... Where is my assistant?"

The Little Person jumped high and shrieked.

"Where is my assistant?" Larten repeated.

"Huh?" Harkat replied and turned to face the visitor. "Oh, goodmorning Larten."

"Where is my assistant?" Larten said for a third time.

"What do you mean by that?" Harkat frowned. "Isn't he in the Hall of Princes?"

"Are you sure? Did he leave without you?"

"Well... What can I say? He has work to do, so I guess he did."

Larten nodded slowly. "In that case, I shall eat my breakfast alone, before teaching him today's lessons. Are you coming with me?"

"Nah, I want to fall asleep again. I'm tired."

"As you wish."

The orange-haired vampire sat in the Hall of Khledon Lurt, eating breakfast, when Vanez Blane sat down at the opposite side of the table.

"Do you mind if I keep you company?" Vanez smiled and began eating his bat broth without waiting for an answer.

"Not the slightest. What have you been up to then?" Larten asked politely.

"Nothing important... I just gathered a gang of vampires and mocked Kurda." Vanez replied casually and continued eating.

"You know, Larten." he said after a while. "The floor in the Hall of Princes is broken! According to the rumours, there is a hollow part underneath the hall. Probably a tunnel or something."

"What, is it broken?" Larten exclaimed and stared at Vanez.

"Uh-huh. Didn't you know?"

"No... Was Darren in there?"

"Of course. All of the princes were. They gave orders to the Generals to repair it."

"So... Is my assistant unharmed?" Larten asked and eyed the games master suspiciously.

"I don't believe the other princes would let anything happen to him. Probably, he is safe."

Larten sighed with relief and rose. "Good. I am going to visit him now."

The Hall of Princes was packed with Generals, building a temporary wooden-floor over the big hole in the stonefloor. Paris scratched his head, wondering what they should do with the matter of Darren. Arrow was asleep in his throne, and Mika yelled at the Generals to hurry up. Suddenly, the entrance to the hall opened, and Larten and Vancha entered. Mika looked up, and immediately stopped shouting. Paris looked ashamed, Arrow snored, and Larten stared at them, wondering why they looked so guilty. There was an awkward silence in the hall for a moment, before Vancha spoke up.

"Where's Darren?"

Mika stared at him, disturbed, and Paris blushed, then turned his head away and coughed into his fist.

"Maybe you didn't notice, but I just asked you a question." Vancha sighed.

Mika and Paris hesitated, but eventually Paris replied.

"Now, there's been a small accident. Darren was... at the wrong place when the floor broke."

"Where is he now?" Vancha asked, although he already knew the answer.

Paris nodded against the hole, which was half covered with wooden-planks.

Larten glared at the three princes in their thrones, astonished.

"And still, you decided to cover the hole, without getting him out of there?" Vancha exclaimed.

"Ehm... We couldn't... It isn't... We don't know how long those tunnels are. We might would be lost."

Finally, the princes' words had sunk into Larten. Darren was missing.

"OH MY VAMPIRE GODS!" he screamed. Arrow woke up.

"Hey... Larten..." he yawned and stretched in his throne.

"Aaahh! You insignificant, irresponsible, cruel vampires!" Larten yelled.

"We are actually princes! We demand respect!" snarled Mika.

"I meant insignificant, irresponsible, cruel Sires!"

"That's more like it."

"Larten is apparently very worried about his assistant. Maybe we should offer him to go down there and search." Paris mused.

"Yes, Sire, I would appreciate that!" said Larten.

"Are you sure? Maybe we will lose you?"

"I am absolutely sure. I am going to convince some useful vampires to come with me."

"Very well. Your wish is granted."

Larten turned to Vancha.

"Please, old friend... Can you escort Vanez, Arra and Kurda to this hall?" he asked Vancha.

"Why them?"

"Vanez and Arra are both great fighters. And Kurda maybe knows about this tunnel. I will stay here and convince Mika to follow us. Maybe I will need him."

Vancha turned and walked out of the hall, while Larten convinced Mika. Very soon Vanez, Arra and Kurda arrived.

They stood in a line next to Mika, and Larten stood in front of them.

"Now, did Vancha mention our mission?" he bellowed.

"Yes, sir!"

"We do not know what is down there, so are you aware of that we might face great danger?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do you all have weapons?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Do you have your maps, Kurda?"

"No, sir!"

Larten stopped. "What do you mean, no? Did you never discover that tunnel?"

"I possibly did, but I haven't got my maps anymore." Kurda sighed.

"Why is that?"

"Vanez, Arra, and a group of others threw all my maps at the stakes in the Hall of Death." Kurda sniffed angrily and glared at Vanez and Arra . Larten sighed and shook his head.

"Then I hope that we will get out of there alive anyway." He said sincerely. "Now, it is time for us to be off."

The five vampires gathered around the hole and stared down in the black abyss.

"I don't want to die..." Kurda squeaked, frightened.

"Then go. We have not got any use for you now, since you have not got any maps." said Larten.

"I can't go..." he replied. "I'll do this for Darren." The others nodded.

"For Darren." Vanez agreed.

"For Darren." Mika growled.

Arra just nodded for answer.

"I am going to count now... At 3, jump." Larten whispered.

"1..." Mika got ready to jump and stared fiercely at the hole.

"2..." Arra and Vanez looked at each other and nodded.

"3!" Kurda's body shook with fright, and then, he suddenly got pushed into the hole by Vanez, Mika and Arra, who then jumped down after him. Larten stood on the edge and saw the ohers disappear beneath his feet. The orange-haired vampire took a deep breath and leaned over the edge. How deep was this hole? Would they all survive the fall? Did Darren survive it? Plenty of thoughts flowed through his head as the floor disappeard under his feet, and the dark blocked his sight. He could see nothing but black when he fell like a rock, down into... What?

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><p><strong>And the rescue-team goes down! :P<br>Please, leave a review and let me know what you think!  
><strong>**I will come up with the next chapter soon :)**

**~Virvelmaster~**


	3. Shadows

**Author's note.**

**I'm sorry that it takes a lot of time for me to update, but from time to time I am very busy with school work and stuff. But now, I am back with another chapter! :)**  
><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Cirque du Freak-series, nor the characters in it.<strong>

**Enjoy! :D**

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><p>SPLASH!<p>

Four vampires came up from the liquid, coughing and cursing. The fall was pretty long, but the strange, slimy liquid made them land unharmed. It was a light green colour, with blue and pink leafs swirling around in it. Big bubbles popped up everywhere in it, and it looked like a multi-coloured swamp.

"Charna's guts!" Mika cursed and rubbed the liquid out of his eyes.

Vanez was trying to put his eyepatch right when another splash was heard.

"And there came Larten," he said.

The orange-haired vampire rose and spat.

"By the black blood of Harnon Oan! What is this? Have you been here before, Kurda?" he snarled.

"No... I have never seen anything like it... But it's beautiful." Kurda replied and dragged his fingers through the liquid. The leafs were like mirrors. He watched his reflection in one of them.

"Why isn't Darren here?" said Arra. She looked around in the cave. There were stalactites everywhere, and some of them almost reached the surface of the strange liquid, which was all over the ground. There was two tunnels leading out from the cave, one to the left of Arra, and one to the right.

Kurda still stood and watched his reflection in a leaf. It was so beautiful. "Why can't I just stop looking at it?" he thought. The leaf made him feel safe and calm. Suddenly, his reflection started changing. The leaf, which had been blue, turned silver. His reflection wasn't his any longer. He only saw a shadow in it. The shadow was as dark as a black hole, like the light itself was sucked into it. Kurda didn't want to look into the leaf. He tried hard to don't, but his eyes still stayed focused on it. He let out a shaky breath.

"Darren must have gone into one of those tunnels. We must follow." Larten said.

"Yes, but which one?" Mika eyed one of the tunnels suspiciously.

"I do not know... We will split up. I can go into the left one with... Arra and Mika..."

Kurda couldn't hear what Larten said anymore. The shadow in the leaf had opened it's eyes now. It had only narrow slits for eyes. They were completely white, and glowed eerie. The blond general started to feel uncomfortable. He watched the shadows eyes intensly, against his will. "It isn't a human, or a vampire shadow... None of them look like that." he thought, and felt himself panicking. Now, he felt like he was sucked into the creature's eyes. Everything started to spin, and Kurda fell down in the liquid.

"... And then we... What was that?" Larten said and turned around. "WHAT? Kurda, what is the matter?"

They all ran to the blonde and tilted him up. Kurda gasped and soon started screaming in pain. They all looked at his face, tried to get eye contact. But, if they had been looking after the spot that hurt, maybe they had noticed the smoke that rose from his palm. The silvery leaf that was burned into it.

After one or two minutes, Kurda could stand up again. The others didn't know what to do.

"What... What happened to you, Kurda?" Vanez asked, slowly.

Kurda only coughed in response.

"What happened?" Vanez insisted.

"Well... As I said, this liquid might be toxic." he winked and tried to joke. "No, but really, I'm fine now."

Arra shook her head and sighed. "Whatever. Now, Kurda. You and Vanez, take the tunnel to the right. The rest of us are going to the left."

Vanez looked pained and Kurda nodded.

Then they walked against the tunnel, without saying a word to each other. Kurda rubbed his hand and watched the leaf which was burned into his hand.

"I can't tell anyone about this... About what I saw. It wasn't anything important, but still... It would worry them. If I just pretend to be fine, they won't notice." he thought and followed Vanez, into the tunnel.

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><p>"I can not understand where Darren is! He is nowhere to be found!" Larten said and leaned against the wall. They had been walking constantly for four hours now.<p>

"Come on, keep on walking." replied Mika .

"No... Can we not take a break? I am exhausted... I am usually not this worried about people." Larten said and shook his head.

"Okay." Arra sat down on the ground. "Did we bring anything to eat?"

"Ehh..." Larten's eyes went big when he understood that they had forgotten to bring the most important thing of all. Food!

"CHARNA'S GUTS!" Mika exclaimed. He was furious! "What the hell are we going to eat?"

"Do not worry, I... I shall bring us dinner." He instantly rose and walked away to search for food.

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><p>All the time, he worried about Darren. He remembered that night when he had first seen Darren. Why had he blooded Darren to begin with? He didn't regret it the slightest, but still... It wasn't his intention to do that. "Why cannot that little brat ever keep out of trouble?" he thought. "How can a stone floor break just li..."<p>

His thoughts was interrupted when he walked into a rock and fell down.

"Ouch! Look where you are going, stupid!" he said to himself. Then, he saw something at the rock. Cobwebs!

He started smiling. When he was a kid, he had eaten cobwebs just before he met his master Seba for the first time.

"It will have to do." he mumbled to no one in particular and started collecting cobwebs.

When he got back, Mika had fallen asleep.

"Seems like I am not the only one who is tired." he smiled and dropped all the cobwebs on the ground.

"Is that what we're going to eat?" Arra asked and nodded against the webs.

"Yes. Since I could not find anything else, that will have to do." Larten replied and shrugged.

"It will do." She started eating, but looked really disgusted.

Larten waked Mika.

"Sire. It is time for dinner."

Mika yawned and stretched.

"Okay... It will be really interesting to see what you..." He went quiet when he saw Arra eating the spiderwebs. Then he started eating too.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Arra asked Larten. He shook his head.

"No, I am not hungry. I just want to find Darren." he sighed.

"I'm so tired..." Mika said and stretched. "I think it's morning outside the mountain. Perhaps we should go to sleep and keep on searching tomorrow?"

"Yes, I think so too!" Arra agreed.

"I do not know..." The scar faced vampire said.

"Come on... You won't be as handsome as you are now if you're walking around with bags underneath your eyes!" Arra tried.

Larten blushed slightly.

"Fine." he eventually answered and shrugged. He wanted to continue his searching, but he still knew that the others were right. They must sleep.

Arra smiled and kissed him. (When Mika looked away!)

"Good. That was the right choice," she said. "You'll feel much better tomorrow."

Larten nodded.

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><p>The sun was shining intensly outside when Mika woke up. He didn't notice that of course, since he was inside a tunnel. There was pretty dark in there, as always, and Mika sat up. "Why did I wake up?" he wondered. It wasn't like him to just wake up because of nothing. He just sat there on the ground, with two other vampires next to him, and stared into the wall. He tried to remember. "What caused me to wake up...? I know it was something, but I just can't remember..." He shook his head. Nevermind. He didn't need to know. He turned his head and looked down on Arra. His former assistant. He thought about when he and Arra first saw Larten in Vampire Mountain. Both he and the orange haired vampire tried to win Arra's heart. He didn't know why, but she wanted Larten. Mika sighed gloomly and was just about to caress her hair, when he heard a swishing sound. Then he remembered! "That was it! I woke up because of that noise!" He turned around to see where the sound came from. It was just dark. "Perhaps it was a bat." he thought and yawned.<p>

Suddenly... He became aware of two narrow slits, watching him. They were white and glowed eerie. "What kind of animal has got that kind of eyes?" he mused. He leaned forward for a better look, but couldn't see any body. "Either those eyes hasn't got a body... Or, the body is so dark that it can't be seen against the wall."

An uncomfortable feeling started creeping up his spine. It grew stronger when the eyes went bigger and bigger. He understood that the creature was getting closer all the time.

"Stop it! Stay where you are!" Mika snarled. The creature didn't stop. Mika crept closer to wall. He was a tough prince, but he didn't want to hit this thing. Not kick either, or anything. It was something about it that made him want to stay as far away as possible. "What am I going to do?" he thought. "It will kill me..."

"ARRA! LARTEN! WAKE UP, NOW!" he roared angrily. Well, like that was going to help. None of them woke up, and the black-haired prince started sweating. The eyes were in front of his now. He refused to look into them and looked down at his legs instead. The uncomfortable feeling was almost unbearable. Mika started counting the time he had left to live. He felt the creatures long, thin fingers take a firm grip around his chin.

It tilted Mika's head up. Forced him to look into its eyes.

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><p><strong>Wow... What will happen?<br>And where did that... thing come from? (Haha, okay, we all know that.) ;)  
>Write a review and let me know what you think! :)<strong>

**~Virvelmaster**


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